A Baltimore prosecutor offered jurors in a murder trial a painful and troubling portrait Wednesday of the victim's final moments, describing how a killer "suffocated and butchered" the boy, whose screams for help she said went unheard by a relative who had passed out from heroin.
Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer Hastings held up two oversized pictures of 15-year-old Jason Mattison Jr., pointed to the suspect sitting just feet from the Circuit Court jury and said the victim "met with a nightmare, and that nightmare is Dante Parrish."
Parrish is a convicted murderer whose sentenced was reduced with the help of the Innocence Project.
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Jason had been a standout at West Baltimore's Vivian T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy, a school oriented toward students wanting to become doctors, nurses and paramedics. Lauded as talkative, bright and friendly, the lanky teen made no secret that he was gay, displaying a witty attitude and quirky dress.
He felt at home at school, where 80 percent of the 425 students were female, often arriving before the first bell and staying long after the day had ended to do homework. People, including his family, were less accepting of his sexual identity, and the prosecutor said he was not welcome in his grandmother's or mother's homes.
"He went from place to place to keep a roof over his head," Hastings said in court. He felt welcome at the house owned by his great-aunt on Llewellyn Avenue, but the prosecutor said there was little adult supervision, many occupants spent the days shooting heroin, drinking and playing cards, and keeping the front door open to random visitors.
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